Five AJGA alums selected to U.S. Walker Cup Team

Among the 10 who will compete for the United States at the 2013 Walker Cup, five AJGA alums were selected including Justin Thomas, Patrick Rodgers, Michael Kim, Cory Whitsett and Max Homa. The 44th annual Walker Cup will be played at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton, N.Y., Sept. 6-8. The additional five U.S. Walker Cup Team members will be selected later this summer upon the conclusion of the 2013 U.S. Amateur Championship.

Bios

Justin Thomas of Goshen, Ky., will compete in his first Walker Cup. Thomas brought in six wins in his collegiate career to set a University of Alabama record. Thomas won both the 2012 Fred Haskins Award and the 2012 Jack Nicklaus Award as the nation's top collegiate golfer, as well as the 2012 Phil Mickelson Award, as the outstanding freshman in Division I men's golf. In his sophomore season at the University of Alabama, Thomas was named as a second-team All-American and first-team All-Southeastern Conference. He has been a Palmer Cup selection the past two years and was key to the Crimson Tide victory at the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship.

A three-time AJGA winner and two-time Rolex Junior All-American, Thomas compiled nine top-five finishes during his five-year AJGA career. Thomas represented the U.S. at the 2010 Junior Ryder Cup. He earned his spot to compete at the 2010 Wyndham Cup team for the East Team, producing a 3-1-0 record.

Patrick Rodgers of Avon, Ind., is a returning member of the U.S. Walker Cup Team, having competed at the 2011 match at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Scotland. He was a two-time first-team All-American and first-team All-Pac 12 Conference at Stanford University where he completed his sophomore season with three individual titles for a career total of five victories. He earned the honor of the All-Freshman Team and was a finalist for the Ben Hogan Award. He recently finished T15 at the 2013 John Deere Classic.

Two-time Rolex Junior All-American and two-time Scholastic Junior All-American, Rodgers notched 10 top-10 finishes and competed on the 2010 Wyndham Cup East Team, where he recorded a 3-1-0 record. He earned one AJGA victory and was named to the HP Scholastic Junior All-America Team twice.

Michael Kim of Del Mar, Calif., will compete in his first Walker Cup. The 2013 Pac-12 Player of the Year at University of California Berkeley, Kim won four collegiate events in his sophomore season. He was awarded the 2013 Haskins Award and Jack Nicklaus Award and was honored as 2012-13 Golfweek/Sagarin Player of the Year. At the 113th U.S. Open Championship in June, Kim earned low amateur honors with a tournament total of 10-over-par 290.

Cory Whitsett of Houston, will compete in his first Walker Cup. Whitsett halved the 15th hole against Alex Burge to win the championship-clinching team point for the University of Alabama at the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship. Whitsett, the 2012 and 2013 Elite 89 winner, led the Crimson Tide with a scoring average of 70.84 his sophomore season. The rising junior recorded two individual titles in 2013 to bring his career total to five. After his winning season with Alabama,Whitsett went on to lead the U.S. to victory in June at the 2013 Palmer Cup, compiling a 3-0-1 record in the matches.

Whitsett, a three-time Rolex Junior All-American, compiled four career AJGA wins and eight top-three finishes. He competed on the 2010 Wyndham Cup East Team, boasting a 3-1-0 record.

Max Homa of Valencia, Calif., will also compete in his first Walker Cup. The University of California Berkeley grad took home individual medalist honors at the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship. In 2012, Homa finished T9 at the NCAA Championship. He leads Cal in all-time top-10 finishes at the NCAA tournament with two. In 2012, Homa also won the individual title at the Pac-12 championship to lead Cal to its second consecutive Pac-12 title.

In his four year AJGA career, Homa posted six top-10 finishes, including a third-place finish at the 2009 ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior.

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